I enjoy sewing on bindings, especially when it is cold and you can snuggle up in your quilt. I have discovered something that works great holding the binding in place. I ordered a bunch of hair clips from etsy to make hairbows and realized that they would work great for binding! I also used them to hold a purse handle together while I was sewing it. The double batting makes the pins bow a little, but the clips worked great. I got a bag of 50 for very little money. Just a little tip in case anyone struggles finding something to use while binding.I finished the binding and it is now in the washing machine taking a little bath..........woohoo, new quilt to sleep under tonight.I had to include this picture of Oliver with a piece of a twizzler in his mouth. He was a little confused what to do with it.

We got snow, about 6 inches and more to come! I know a lot of you get so much snow and probably get sick of it, but we get very little here in Midlothian, Va. We are loving it and so are the furkids, heck even the 28 year old is out sledding with pizza boxes. etc. Like I said we don't get much snow, so we don't have sleds. ;-)We had a great time at the beach, even though we had to come back a day early. I was able to sew 60 hourglass blocks. I will post quilty pictures soon.

So, last Saturday evening was the first Christmas party of the season at Chez Boyer. This was a fun group, which loosely consisted of local writer friends. I need to say up front that NO OFFICAL ORGANIZATION SPONSORED THIS EVENT, and each and every writers' group that grants me membership is blameless.

It was early in the evening--guests were still arriving. Groups of future literary luminaries chatted about all manner of highbrow matters in the kitchen and keeping room, while sipping festive drinks and nibbling on canapés--okay, it was Southwestern eggrolls, vegetarian meatloaf on crackers, and mini cheeseburgers. Hey, that meatloaf was good. I'm just saying...

Anyway, I was lounging on the sofa yakking with a couple of friends, when something went BOOM! in the kitchen.

I jumped up and looked across the bar, but all I could see was the backsides of everyone who had dashed to the middle of the kitchen.

My husband shouted, "CALL 911! NOW!!"

Clueless, but responding automatically to the tone in The Husband's voice I grabbed the phone and made the call.

"What's the nature of your emergency?" the voice on the phone asked.

I had nothing. I shook my head, gestured wildly, and gave my name and address. I peered over someone's shoulder. A friend we'll call Ginger because that is SO not her name sprawled in the kitchen floor on her back looking at the ceiling.

"What happened?" I asked.

Realizing my dilemma, everyone answered at once. I picked out a few things and told the operator, "My friend got dizzy and fell out of a bar-height chair onto the hardwood floor and hit her head."

The operator asked the standard questions, is she breathing, conscious, able to speak, etc. (All yes at that point, but at least one person said she'd lost consciousness for a moment.) I gave directions--oddly we weren't "in the system." The 911 operator assured me help was on the way.

By this time, The Husband had Ginger's head and feet on pillows, and had tried to cover her with a blanket, but she declined as she was too hot already. Ginger seemed a bit confused herself, as to how she came to be flat on the floor, but poll results indicated that 70% of the people who'd seen what happened thought that she'd leaned back in the chair, not realizing she was seated sideways, and toppled to the floor, where she was at least dazed, and possibly momentarily unconscious.

One resourceful soul asked for a flashlight and went outside to wave down the EMS team. Moments later, the firetruck arrived and parked in front of the house. I greeted the team at the door--I think there were three of them--and directed them to the kitchen. The writers backed off, allowing the professionals to form a circle around Ginger and ask her the same round of questions.

Then, the doorbell rang.

For the next thirty minutes, I alternated greeting arriving guests and additional EMT's. To each group of party guests I explained the firetruck and ambulance, then told them where to put food (and the best route into the kitchen under the circumstances) and coats, and offered them a drink. Periodically I popped by to check on Ginger, who seemed increasingly normal.

After everyone realized Ginger was okay, they went back to nibbling and socializing.

For a surreal while--I really couldn't say how long--the group chatting around Ginger was just one more conversation clutch at the party, only they didn't have drinks. After a bit, the EMT's got Ginger up off the floor. She declined to go to the hospital. The EMT's left, and Ginger stayed at the party and later sang a Karaoke duet with the gentleman who'd flagged down EMS with the flashlight.

is going to the beach with your husband, dogs and adult children ( who still love a week at the beach with old mom and dad). To me that is better than any present under the tree.Of course my sewing machine is packed and fabric for a hourglass quilt all ready to go. I think I spend more time making sure I have all my sewing supplies that I do anything else, except for my stack of books. LOL

She's baaack. Actually, she came back last week, but I had a very good REASON for not showing up on Wednesday. I had a migraine--weather changes, etc. I CANNOT exercise after taking a Relpax. I can't drive after taking a Relpax, but that's a whole nother story.

The Queen of Pain is back onstage at Jazzercise of Taylors, and every muscle in my body is aware. We got an early start on my New Year's resolution today. She thinks (and I know this because she made a smartass comment during class--while wearing the mic) that I will abandon my early NYR by Wednesday. That sounds about right. On the other hand, I might stick with it just for the novelty. I have a vague memory of what being thin felt like. Seems like I was hungry a lot...

QOP quote of the day: "Breathe through your noses. Those aren't just for piercing." I guess thirty women gasping for breath and clutching various body parts is unattractive.

In other Jazzercise news, the group that marched/danced in the Greenville Christmas parade won some sort of award--best dance troupe or some such. I did not participate--I've done the parade thing, back in high school. Only we didn't shimmy.

Look, I'm not saying that pole-dancing moves got them the award, but I did hear that they were PRET-TY theatrical when they pranced past the judges' stand.

I am done......put a fork in me! I have been sewing: a custom tote bag with monogram, and bumper pads and crib skirt the past week. The fabric for said bumper pads and crib skirt was $30 plus a yard. Yikes! I though $10 a yard for quilt fabric was expensive.It was hard making that first cut worrying that I would mess things up. Glad to be back to quilting!

I need a little help with using flannel as a backing and batting both. I will not be using any batting, just the flannel as a backing. I did not prewash any of the fabric in the quilt top, but want to know if I should at least wash the flannel once before I use it. I think that I read that flannel shrinks more than cotton. I don't want it to mess up the top if it shrinks a lot more. Does anyone who has used flannel as backing have any advice? Thank you in advance.